Slicing device



D. SCHULTZ SLICING DEVICE March 9, 1954 4 Sheets-Shea*l l Filed Sept.l0. 947

nventor DA v/D SCHULTZ March 9, 1954 D. scHULTz 2,671,550

sLIcING DEVICE Filed Sept. l0. 1947 4 sheets-sheet 2 ZSnDenfor DAV/.DSCHULTZ Gtornegs D. SCHULTZ SLICING DEVICE March 9, 1954 4 Sheets-Sheet5 Filed Sept. 10. 1947 i Snventor DA v/D SCHUL TZ .law/4 iIIIIIIII(Ittornegs D. SCHULTZ SLICING DEVICE March 9, 1954 4 sheets-sheet 4Filed Sept. l0, 1947 Snventr DA VID SCHULTZ Gttomegs Patented Mar. 9,1954 UNI-'TED STATES- PATENT QFFICE s-LIoING DEvIoE David schulte,Seattle, Wash: Applicants septemer 10, 1947eseria1fN0;vlvaziz '7"Claims. 1

ri'his`inventionrelatestoimprovementsinibeanslicing machines, or relateddevices employed in cutting string beans lengthwise'vn preparatory topacking them incans or cartons fory cold storage or other purposes'.`String; beans sliced longitudinally i'nto thin strips` may generally' bepacked more readily and confipactlyvr than beans cut transversely intoshort'sections; Moreover, tenderization of the: beans by cooking themVis tl-ierebyi facilitated this Way, so.v that large beans whichotherwisel would be toughv and stringy and which, therefore, would oftenbe discarded as: cull's,4` mayf compare favorably withv the' smaller,moreY tender beans Consequently, the advantages of. packinglongitudinally sliced beans haveV caused thi'sl style? to be adopted bymany packers of' food- Commonly, the stemfandi stringi endsl of the beanare` rstclipped om thebeans blanched, andv then passed endWise-through'a slicingP mech= anism comprising parallel" rotating cutting disksbearingA against' a. rotating roll or drum, the' beans passing betweensuch disks= and rolle In order toorient the' beans for conveying; them.'iny the proper" spatialf relationship or alignment'y to thel cuttingmechanism,Av it is' common' to em"- ploy" an endless conveyor belt ontoWhich the'y beans' are deposited' by dropping. them between' closelyspaced partitions exteriding-y lengthwise ofthe belt. Because the beansareflong rela-A tive tothe partitionspacing, their general align-f mentis determined by that oi" theil partitions;l and in travelling on thebelt to the cuttingfsta'f tion, they automatically become presented;end- Wise to the cuttingv disks.

The beans are rst deposited` inta' heapfwitti" haphazard orientationover thea partitions by means of'. aA deWater-ing conveyor beltf'moving"out of a Wash tank containing a. supply of beans'. Hereto'fore theoperation-v of' sifting the beans, or causing them-to'drop intothespaces. between: fixed partitions onto.L the conveyor belt to` becarried to the cutting.- statiom` was amanual process' requiringswinging; all the beans@ until4 their individual alignmentpermitted:them'- toy drop betweenv partitions.- This? requiredlthe i oon-- stant.attention of an? operator in= order to main-I tain an even distribution`ofbeans depositedvon' the' belt for delivery at more or less constant,rate tothe slicing mechanism,A anditheaworkA Wasf tedious; Anotherrelated problemi presented' in"` former' machines centered around? theslicing". mechanism itselfi` wherein' thereI was; difficulty"withicl'oggin'g of th'ei mechanism'. by beanibecmingfedbetweentiiesever"-aiisiitferfdmcst 2vv adding another impediment tothe uniform uninterrupted output rate` of the machine;

Objects of thepresent invention concern improving the operationandreliability` ofJ beanislicing: machines, such that their outputmay bemore rapid and uniform, and theyy Willt not require thev constantattention ofk an operator as before; Specifically it isl an object to improve the operation ofV the slicing mechanismf and to provide automaticsifting or aligning means by Which the former` manual operation may beeliminated.

@ther-4 objects, and various features and operational aspects of myimproved machine, will becomeA apparentupon considering, the followingdescription based on` thev accompanying draw ings.

Figure 1 is a side elevation' viewof` one formV of my machine, andFigure 2 isa fragmentary plan vievv` ofthe same machine.

Figure 3 isa fragmentary longitudinal sectional View ofthemachineshowing in crosssecf tion the slicing mechanism@ and' the end'of the conveyor belt' feed-ing beans into such? mechl anism.`

Figure 4 is a fragmentary detail view of one speciesof device'forsifting the beansto cause'T Figurey 6 is a'y fragmentary side' elevationview" of a modiiied machine illustrating a' diii'erent` form oithe samespecies of sifting device. Figure '7 isa fragmentary cross-sectionalview of the same;` taken along the linel T-l of Figure 6;. andl Figure 8is a fragmentary plan view oit' the same.`

Figure 9 isaf fragmentary' planlview of the imLl proved? slicing.rmechanism; shown in Figure 3E and? FigureJ 10f shows a modified` form ofther cutting;l disks illustrated.' in Figurer 9.

Figure l-l illustrates al still diiferentform off the sam-e species ofsiftingi device;. closelyf re# lated tothe formshoWnin Figure-1l.

Figure 1721- is ai. fragmentary pian view;l aridf Figure afragmentaryside elevationvievv` o' an; alternative: formiV of; tne: machina havinga2 different' species of siting device employing? ifelcien)cable``paralleli bar-skier siftingl the beans; Figure 14 is' a fragmentary'view in crossse'cr ti'omof: pari-,fl of the d ving medianismfor the barstaken :atlo'ng4 the line [4i-wl 4 of Figure"- lil-i1 and Figure is afragmentary perspective view of a portion of support and guide mechanismfor the bars.

Figures 16 and 1'7 are fragmentary plan and end elevation views,respectively, of a third species of sifting mechanism cooperable withthe conveyor belt delivering beans to the slicing mechanism.

In al1 forms of the machine illustrated, beans to be sliced are dumpedinto a wash tank 'I' co-ntaining water, as shown in Figure l, from whichthey are extracted at a substantially uniform rate by a dewatering beltB, which carries them upwardly and deposits them onto the dynamicsifting mechanism S, with its line of motion as shown. Such mechanismincludes a series of parallel spaced strip means, adjacent ones thereofbeing movable oppositely lengthwise of a belt I8 on which the beans aredeposited from the sifting mechanism in general alignment with the belt.By such belt the beans are carried upwardly (the belt being sloped forconvenience in allowing any remaining water to drain from them down thebelt) to the end of the belt run over which they pass endwise into theslicing mechanism C. The beans thus sliced drop onto a final conveyor Fwhich transports them away from the machine. From the time the beansenter the tank 'I' until they are transported away by the conveyor F,they need not be touched by hand, which saves operating personnel andadds to the sanitary aspects of the process.

As shown in Figure 1, the machine comprises a frame 2E] supporting theseveral elements already referred to, and others including a geareddrive motor 22 interconnected by chain and sprocket drives severally tothe dewatering belt B, to the endless transport belt I4 of the beanaligning mechanism, and to the shaft 24 carrying slicing disks 26. BeltB may be constructed of screen mesh to enable water to drain from thebeans while they are carried upwardly from the wash tank. A drain plate28 serves to catch the dropping water and return it to the tank. Asuitable framework is provided to support the pulleys 30 and 32-carrying the belt B, including a pair of inclined sections of channeliron 34 extending between pulleys on either side thereof. The angleirons 34 may be Supported to tilt about a horizontal axis by pivot meanssuch as shaft 36, enabling the entire belt assembly to be swung intosubstantially horizontal position after the sifting mechanism isremoved, when it is desired to take the dewatering belt out of the tankT, or to disassemble the apparatus.

The action of the belt in the tank keeps the beans agitated tofacilitate cleaning them, and because of the uniformly spaced cleatscarried by the belt, beans are extracted from the tank positively at asubstantially uniform rate. Upon reaching the upper end of thedewatering belt B the beans are dropped onto the sifting device,

including a latticework or grid of strip means.

overlying the conveyor belt I3. In the machine of Figure 1, the stripmeans of such grid comprises the runs or stretches of endless round beltI0 wound in sinuous manner about groups of sheaves, I4 and I6, asillustrated diagrammatically in Figure 5. The sheaves of these groupsare arranged in rows at the respective ends of the upper stretch of theconveyor belt I8. Beneath and in registry with the several stretches ofbelt I 0 are partitions 42 overlying the belt I8.

The runs or stretches of belt IIJ are parallel to the line Olmevement ofthe. conveyomr transf Cil , partitions 42.

port belt I8, alternate runs travelling in opposite directions as aresult of the serpentine manner in which the belt is wound on thepulleys I4 and I6. For convenience, the pulleys I4 are positioned inrows-except for the last pulley I4 in one row which is offset to provideclearance for the returning stretch of belt-on a horizontal supportingplate 40 extending transversely of the machine across the upper end ofthe conveyor belt I8. The row of sheaves I6 at the other end of theconveyor belt I8 are similarly supported. From the pulley I4' the beltpasses over a guide pulley and around a main pulley 38 connected to thegeared drive motor 22 by suitable chain and sprocket means, and thenceover another guide pulley and back to the adjacent pulley I4.

Beneath the parallel runs or stretches of belt IIJ, overlying theconveyor belt I8, the series of partitions 42 forming parallel channelsor troughs denne pockets into which drop beans passing the belt IIJ. Thespacing of the partitions is much less than the lengths of beans to besliced, in order that the beans dropping through the latticework of beltrun I0 will be carried by belt I8 through such pocket in generalalignment with the direction of its movement. If desired, a furtherpartition may be added between each pair of adjacent belt stretches todivide the spaces into still narrower channels. Preferably, however, thebelt stretches should not be closer than half the length of a long bean.

In Figure 5 the action of the belt IIl is demonstrated in sifting thebeans onto the transport belt IS with the desired orientation. Since thebeans are deposited by the dewatering belt B onto the latticework of thesifting belt runs in haphazard or random orientation, only a fraction ofthe beans will immediately be in the proper alignment to drop into thespaces between the Others will at rst become suspended on thelatticework with varying orientation. For example, a bean may assumeposition a in Figure 5. In position a the bean rests on two adjacentruns of belt I0. However, because of the opposite motion of these runs,the position of the bean will soon shift from a to b, and nally to c. Itwill be evident, therefore, that this bean, or any beans not immediatelydropping between the partitions, will be swung by the opposite movementof the sifting elements on which its ends rest until it is orientedgenerally parallel with the runs of belt IIJ in common with other beans.

Consequently, as fast as the beans are deposited on the belt system I0they are sifted into the spaces between partitions 42 and are thereaftermaintained by the partitions substantially in alignment with theirdirection of movement effected by transport belt I 8. Differentalignment may be desired with other types of machines for cuttingdiiferent vegetables or other objects, and, in this respect, the siftingmechanism is not necessarily limited to the arrangement shown, in itsalignment relation to the conveyor belt. Suitable retaining plates 44are provided at the sides of the conveyor belt I8 to prevent beansdropping over the edge should they accumulate, or bounce sidewise,before dropping into the spaces between partitions. The upper end of theconveyor belt I8 and the pulley 46 over which it travels, as well as thecutting mechanism, are covered by a hood 48 which keeps the mechanismclean and incidentally assists in guiding beans 50 into the cuttingzone, for which latter purposethe lhood supports curved parallel q hood48, may be lifted upwardly away fromthe" end of the transport belt |58'by= pivoting it about a hinge joint 54 secured to the` supporting platelll. To permit this movement, pinion gear G, comprising part of the diskdrive mechanism, is'

readily disengageable from the drive gear 5U connected to the geareddrive motor 22 by'chain'- and Sprocket mechanism, they pinion geary 26being secured on shaft 24'y to`v rotatev the cutting disk' assembly.

A principal feature of my improved cutting mechanism includes the use ofwashers or spacer disks 60 between the cutting disk-s 26. In addition,improvedcutting action is obtained by enti-- ploying an elongatedstationary backing or cutting block 52, in place of a roll' which wasformerly used. This block has paralleli grooves 62 spaced at intervalsequalv to the spacing of the cutting disks 25, to receive their cuttingedges. The upper edge of the block. 52 is beveled', is positioned closeto the peripheral surface of the belt |8 as it rounds the pulley 40, andextends widthwise of the belt, toA deflect beans from: the belt into thespace between the cutting disks and the block 52. By fillingA thecentral portlon of the cutting roll with the. washers B0' accumula.-tion of bean shreds between thecutting disks is avoided, which otherwisemust be' removed from time to time to maintain the apparatus iniproper.operation. In Figure the cutting edges' ofl the disks 26 are taperedvery gradually'radiallysubstantially from the peripheral edge of thewashers llto the outer edgeof thecuttingdisks.. Cut bean shreds slipbetween; the disks and fall more freely therefrom when thisconstruction-.is used thank in the workable but less practical diskconstruction of Figure 9, wherein the cutting edge tapers abruptly.Another useful, purpose served by the washers 00 is` to give4mechanical. support to the relatively thin' cutting disks to preservetheir spacingv andalignment.

In Figures 6 to 8 inclusive, I have'illustrated an` alternatesiftingbelt arrangement in which a plurality of separate belts are employed forthe sifting. device, eachforming oneof` the belt runs or stretchessupporting the beans. In this case, the belts 64 are carried by spacedgroups of pulleys" (it and B8 respectively rotated bysliaftsv 'i0 and'|2, driven pulleys being arranged alternately with idler pulleys onany' single` shaft. The idler pulleys rotate freely: about suchshaft,and by employing aV crossed drivebelt 14# between drive pulleys 16 and'|8i interconnecting the shafts, thealternate belts 64 areV caused torunin opposite directions.

In both of the preceding alternate forms of the belt mechanism roundbelts are illustrated. However, it will be understood that V-belts,diamond belts, or belts of other cross-sectional shapes may be employedto accomplish the same general results. For instance, in Figure l1 thebelt shown is at and thin, the narrow, upper edges of the belteliminating any likelihood of the beans becoming balanced on a belt edgeto prevent them from falling into the spaces between partitions 42. Thistype of belt may be used in the continuous, serpentine belt arrangementwound about pulleys 80 in the same manner as in Figure 5. Alternatively,such a belt type may be used for the separate belts arranged and drivenas shown in Figure 6, previously described.

, 6'? It is pointed out that a iiat belt of' the type shown in Figure1f1 could feasibly serve doubly,

both forv sifting the-beans, to cause themy to drop; into alignment onthe conveyor belt I8', andI as Y Inf such case'l the belt would' bethinand wide, the lower' edgeof the belt lying in close proximity to theupper substitutes for the` partitions 4121.

guided" for lengthwise reciprocation in such par-V allel relationshipbybeing grooved tostraddle the partitions 42,. alternate bars being drivenby cross pieces 84 and 861, respectively, secured to such bars atA oneen'df. Drive mechanism by which the cross'vpieces StandV 86, and' hencethe bars, arel reciprocated may=comprise-a crank disk 83, a crosshead00' reciprocabl'e between parallel guiding strips 92, andfa'fconnecting'rodi Hinter-- connecting the crosshead and al crank pin mounted on theside ofthe'disk 88z Such disk is rotated by ashaft 96 driven byalbeltilil-l connected to the geared motor 22 throughV suitable chainand sprocket drive mechanism.

As the crossheadi` 905 is reciprocated between the guides 92 theadjacent endsof-`apair oflinks |00 and |612 interconnecting' theAcrosshead and shafts me', |06, respectively', journaled in the ends ofcrosspiece's 84, 86, areraisedY and lowered,

thereby intermittently drawing toward' each other and. spreading apart'the. crossv pieces 04' and 86. Thelength ofsuclfi` strokeisfenough toSwing beans resting on. the slides 821sufli`ciently to align the beanswithl the transport belt I8, preferably being about equal totlieispacingii be` tweenA the bars.y Pinion. gears |118-l andl ||0f arecarried at the `ends vof each of` shafts |04 and. |06, respectively,which are engageable with station--v aryg'ear racks 2 and H4'positioned' adjacent to the ends ofthe crosspieces parallel tothe bars-82. Consequently, whilel only one end ofthe shafts' |041` and |06' are'connected to` the links |00 and |02?, because of the-rotationofthe-pinions in their respective gear racks and` thecoupling of shafts|04, |06, the opposite ends of such shafts, and hence, ofitliecrosspieces, are-caused to movesynchronouslywiththe directly drivenends. Figure 14 shows the detailedfmanner in whichV the shaftsv limi and|06j are: received inithe upturned ends of the crosspieces. It alsoillus-- trates the useof'guides H6, |`|8 allowing travers ing movementof shafts |04', |05 whilerestraining them fromY movement verticallythereby preventing disengagementi of`V thepinions from the gearrack.Preferably, the upper surfaces of the bars 82 carry knobs orpins, or'arer knurled in order to increase the gripping action of the slides onthe beans to assist in swinging them as the bars are reciprooated.

In still another alternative form of sifting mechanism, elongated screwsare employed in place of the belt or bars of the preceding embodimentsof my invention. This is illustrated in Figures 16 and 17, in which thebeans are dedeposited on a grid formed of parallel, high pitch screws|20. The screws are suitably journaled at their ends in cross members|22 and may be driven by a series of intermeshing gears interconnectingthe screws. In the case illustrated the screws are all convoluted in thesame sense,

so that when they are rotated in opposite directions by the intermeshinggears {24 and 126 the portions of the beans contacting them will bemoved oppositely to swing the beans. However, it will be appreciatedthat alternate screws convoluted oppositely will achieve the same effectif rotated all in the same directions. Screws having an outer diameterof three quarters of an inch may be spaced at center line intervalscomparable to the spacing of the belts and slide bars in the respectiveforms previously described.

While in the illustrated embodiment the cutting mechanism, the conveyorbelts, and the sifting mechanism are driven from a common source ofpower, namely, the geared drive motor 22, in some cases it may bedesirable to employ independent drive means for one or more of theseveral moving parts. It may be desirable for speed of the dewateringbelt D to be less than the speed of the conveyor belt feeding the beansto the cutting mechanism because the beans are all moved lengthwise inthe latter instance. Moreover, in reciprocating the bars 82 to sift orshake the beans into the spaces between partitions, a faster rate may bepermissible or desirable when beans run smaller, than when larger beansare processed. Moreover, other mechanisms for swinging the beans tocause them to drop between the partitions, and other arrangements of thepartitions, may be employed within the principles set forth herein, themethods indicated being the preferred examples. For instance, instead ofhaving oppositely moving members as the sole supports for the beansduring sifting, it will be possible to space a greater distance apartmembers all moving in the same direction and to add a high partitionmidway between them, whichl is substantially as high as the level of themoving members, to operate with them in supporting the beans. Thus, thesifting mechanism may comprise alternate moving members and stationarymembers, so that only one end of a bean may be moved, by the movingmember, in swinging the bean into the proper orientation. These andother variations and additions will be evident to those skilled in thisart, and the invention is thus to be interpreted without limitation tothe particular forms of construction herein illustrated for explanatorypurposes.

I claim as my invention:

1. In combination, generally planar conveyor means, and bean orientingmeans operable to align and deposit beans in generally parallel relationon said conveyor means, said orienting means including a grid composedof spaced parallel strip means generally parallel to the movement ofsaid conveyor means, the spacing of said strip means being appreciablyless than the length of beans to be sliced, and sheaves rotatable aboutaxes disposed transversely of the plane of said conveyorv means,engaging said strip means and moving adjacent strip means in oppositedirections lengthwise.

2. The combination defined in claim l, in which the strip means comprisemoving belt stretches.

3. The combination dened in claim 2, in which the belt stretchesconstitute succeeding sections of a continuous belt, the sheaves arearranged in two groups spaced apart lengthwise of the conveyor means,and the belt is passed in a sinuous pattern between and about thesheaves of such groups.

4. The combination defined in claim l, in which the strip means comprisestretches of flat belt.

5. The combination dened in claim 1, in which the strip means comprisemoving belt stretches arranged in pairs, the two belt stretches of eachpair being disposed in adjacent relationship and being integrated into asingle continuous belt.

6. In a machine for slicing string beans or similar articles, conveyormeans operable to carry beans deposited thereon to a slicing station,and bean orienting means operable to align and deposit beans ingenerally parallel relation on said conveyor means for presentationendwise at said slicing station, said orienting means including a gridcomposed of spaced parallel moving belt runs generally parallel to themovement of said conveyor means, the spacing of said belt runs beingappreciably less than the length of beans to be sliced, and meansoperable to support and drive alternate belt runs in oppositedirections.

'7. In combination, generally planar conveyor means and bean orientingmeans operable to align and deposit beans in generally parallel relationon said conveyor means, said orienting means including a grid composedof spaced parallel moving belt runs generally parallel to movement ofsaid conveyor means, the spacing of said belt runs being appreciablyless than the y length of beans to be sliced, and means operable tosupport and drive alternate belt runs in opposite directions.

DAVID SCHU'LTZ.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 553,315 Packer Jan. 2l, 1896 1,341,238 Mason May 25, 19201,931,114 Olney Oct. 17, 1933 2,160,693 Anstice May 30, 1939 2,192,518Eissmann Mar. 5, 1940 2,221,699 Buck Nov. 12, 1940 2,333,576 Kerr Nov.2, 1943

